Local restaurants partner with City Mission for program to fight hunger
Courtesy of Washington City Mission
Co-owners of Chicco Baccello, Lisa Aprea, left, and Nancy Ogburn deliver 100 lunches for City Mission residents.
Courtesy of Washington City Mission
From left, Lisa Aprea, left, and Nancy Ogburn from Chicco Baccello stand with City Mission kitchen supervisor Tony Cheverine, middle, who received the lunches and prepared them for City Mission residents.
Courtesy of Washington City Mission
Donor Dan Smith, left, and City Mission CFO Dennis Kennedy pose for a picture in the City Mission kitchen.
Dan Smith, president and CEO at Equipment & Controls Inc. in Lawrence, recently joined with Denny Kennedy, Washington City Mission chief financial officer, and Dean Gartland, the City Mission’s CEO, to create the Heroes Fighting Hunger program.
City Mission used initial funds donated by Smith to purchase meals from local restaurants for the homeless residents living on it campus. The program has supported 15 local restaurants and provided more than 7,500 meals for City Mission residents throughout January, February, and now into March.
Mounts reached out to generous donors in the community, and using Smith’s initial donation as a matching gift, was able to raise even more money for the cause. Major donors to the new program include: Brian and Karen Shanahan, Mike and Kathy Makripodis, Jon Halpern of Pineapple Payments, and others.
City Mission’s food service manager Judy Sandy organized the project, contacted the restaurants and put together a meal schedule.
Sandy said 11 area restaurants took part in the program.
Chicco Baccello in Washington was one of the first restaurants the Mission approached with this idea. Every Tuesday in the month of March, Chicco Baccello is providing lunch for the residents at City Mission by making deli sandwiches along with side dishes.
City Mission is planning to complete this program at the end of the month as in-dining restrictions ease and funding for the project winds down. For more information, call 724-222-8530 or visit www.citymission.org.